Projection

(noun)

In psychodynamic psychology, a defense mechanism in which an individual attributes their own unacceptable or unwanted attributes, thoughts, or emotions to other people.

Related Terms

Examples of Projection in the following topics:

  • Overview of Personality Assessment

    • Psychologists measure personality through objective tests (such as self-reports) and projective measures.
    • The most common of these methods include objective tests and projective measures.
    • Projective measures, unlike objective tests, are sensitive to the rater's or examiner's beliefs.
    • Projective tests are based on Freudian psychology (psychoanalysis) and seek to expose people's unconscious perceptions by using ambiguous stimuli to reveal the inner aspects of an individual's personality.
    • Two of the most popular projective measures are the Thematic Apperception Measure and the Rorschach test.

  • Validity and Reliability of Personality Assessments

    • Because of this, objective tests are said to have more validity than projective tests.
    • In contrast to objective tests, projective tests are much more sensitive to the examiner's beliefs.
    • Some projective tests, like the Rorschach, have undergone standardization procedures so they can be relatively effective in measuring depression, psychosis, and anxiety.
    • Projective tests are often considered best used for informational purposes only, and not as a true measure of personality.
    • For many decades, traditional projective tests have been used in cross-cultural personality assessments.

  • Perceiving Depth, Distance, and Size

    • When an image is projected onto a single retina, cues about the relative size of the object compared to other objects are obtained.
    • When an object moves toward an observer, the retinal projection of the object expands over a period of time, which leads to the perception of movement in a line toward the observer.
    • This is useful when you cross the street: as you watch a car come toward you, your brain uses the change in size projected on your retina to determine how far away it is.

  • Introducing the Neuron

    • They are activated by sensory input, and send projections to other elements of the nervous system, ultimately conveying sensory information to the brain or spinal cord.
    • Motor neurons are neurons located in the central nervous system, and they project their axons outside of the CNS to directly or indirectly control muscles.

  • Circadian Rhythms

    • But the retina also contains specialized ganglion cells, which are photosensitive and project directly to the SCN, where they help in the entrainment of this master circadian clock.

  • Conscious vs. Unconscious Emotion

    • Visual input is received by the thalamus and projected to the amygdala, which sends signals directly to the areas of the brain responsible for generating self-defense behavior.

  • Understanding Concepts

    • Individuals constantly project into the world around them the interpretive frames that allow them to make sense of the world.

  • The Brain and Personality

    • One of his early projects was to locate in the dictionary every term that he thought could describe a person.

  • Undergraduate and Graduate Study in Psychology

    • A master's degree in any specified area may require completion of a master's thesis, dissertation, and/or project.

  • Maintaining Motivation

    • Finding small ways to reignite the initial excitement of a plan or project, such as reading about or researching a goal, is also effective.